Hamas

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 20, 2015

Series of explosions destroy several vehicles belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials, injuring at least two people in nearby homes; attacks are only latest in Gaza to be attributed to extremists who have aligned themselves with Islamic State. MORE

Jul. 10, 2015

Israeli authorities claim Hamas is detaining two Israeli civilians in Gaza. MORE

Jul. 1, 2015

Series of bombings targeting Hamas in Gaza Strip, including four attacks in May, have been attributed to extremist Islamist groups that vow loyalty to Islamic State and are attempting to challenge Hamas's power in region; groups, known as salafi-jihadis, have been energized by ISIS victories in Iraq and Syria; latest clashes are sign of their growing power. MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

Editorial highlights findings of report issued by United Nations Human Rights Council commission that found both Israel and Palestinian militants guilty of violations of international humanitarian law during 2014 war in Gaza Strip; notes report said violations were possibly war crimes; suggests that Israel should try to comply with international law, even if Hamas is unlikely to adhere to it. MORE

Jun. 21, 2015

Opening of border between Gaza and Egypt, along with rumors that Hamas has quietly been carrying out negotiations with Israel, underscore extent to which Hamas has been operating independently from Palestinian Authority in governing territory; Hamas' separate actions have raised concerns that it is undermining Palestinian unity, considered necessary by many to gaining statehood. MORE

Jun. 20, 2015

Palestinian producers of satirical video series The News Program have faced numerous challenges in getting show off the ground, including introducing satire to residents of Gaza Strip; question that hangs over series is how Hamas government will react, as it exerts tight control over independent media. MORE

Jun. 9, 2015

United Nations Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon, under pressure from United States and Israel and in opposition to advice of senior envoy Leila Zerrougui, chooses to omit both Israeli Defense Forces and Hamas from list of armies and guerrilla groups that harm children; list is part of annual report on children's rights violations that includes information on children who were killed and injured by both groups. MORE

Jun. 3, 2015

Younis Hounor, local leader of extremist Islamist splinter group in Gaza, is shot to death by Hamas; death ratchets tensions in Gaza as Hamas has been cracking down on radical jihadists. MORE

Jun. 2, 2015

Gaza residents despair at depressed economy and steadily worsening living standards amid ruins of homes that have yet to be rebuilt after last war with Israel; Hamas institutes onerous import fees in effort to cover salaries of thousands of government employees who have been unpaid for months while unemployment rate continues to rise. MORE

May. 27, 2015

Amnesty International says Hamas killed at least 23 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel in 2014 Gaza Strip war, and tortured dozens of others. MORE

May. 23, 2015

World Bank report finds Gaza's economy is near collapse due to 2014 war with Israel, border restrictions and dysfunctional government; cites conflict between Gaza's Hamas rulers and Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas as reason for delay in reconstruction efforts, and notes unemployment rate stands at 44 percent, world's highest level. MORE

May. 15, 2015

More than 60 people are injured in Gaza in explosion at training camp for Hamas militants. MORE

May. 12, 2015

Hamas victory in student elections at Birzeit University in West Bank is seen as indication of general discontent with Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party; student elections are important gauge of Palestinian political attitudes as no legislative elections have been held since 2006. MORE

May. 1, 2015

Elusive British graffiti artist Banksy creates stir in Gaza after crafting works on rubble to highlight destruction from war between Israel and Hamas. MORE

Apr. 30, 2015

Witnesses say demonstrators in Gaza, protesting unemployment, poverty and dire living conditions, were beaten with sticks and herded into jeeps by Hamas security officials. MORE

Apr. 28, 2015

United Nations internal inquiry finds that Israeli military actions killed 44 Palestinian civilians in seven United Nations schools during 2014 conflict in Gaza and that no weapons were found in those buildings; notes that other vacant UN-run schools had been used by Hamas to store weapons; Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon criticizes Israel for attacks and Hamas for misuse of facilities; weighs whether to seek reparations from Israel alone or from Palestinian militants as well. MORE

Apr. 9, 2015

Federal Judge Brian M Cogan upholds verdict finding Arab Bank liable for supporting 24 terrorist attacks after allowing money linked to Hamas to be sent through its banks; grants bank's motion to remove two attacks from case, due to insufficient evidence; denies bank's motions for new trial and expedited appeal. MORE

Mar. 26, 2015

Amnesty International report accuses Palestinian groups, including military wing of Hamas, of war crimes and flagrant disregard of civilian lives during summer 2014 war in Gaza. MORE

Mar. 8, 2015

Nicholas Kristof Op-Ed column underscores degree of misery for Palestinians in Gaza six months after latest Israeli conflict there, with thousands of homeless people enduring harsh winter conditions; notes that plight of Gazans is result of Israeli siege on one side, closing of border with Egypt and continued provocations toward Israel by Hamas; warns that another war may be brewing. MORE

Mar. 3, 2015

Three Israelis and six Palestinians are indicted in connection with smuggling ring that provided unauthorized raw materials to Gaza; Israeli authorities say materials were intended to build military infrastructure for Hamas. MORE

Feb. 8, 2015

Dalia Shurrub, who lives in southern Gaza, is prohibited from seeing her fiance Rashed Sameer Faddah, who lives in West Bank, because of border restrictions; thousands of Palestinians are suffering from separation of two territories especially since Hamas took power in Gaza in 2007; exits through Israel are strictly controlled, limited only for humanitarian cases. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Israel's state comptroller says investigation is underway into moves by military and political leaders during 50-day war with Hamas in Gaza in 2014; statement is country's latest attempt to stop International Criminal Court inquiry into its conduct. MORE

Jan. 15, 2015

Competing checkpoints run by Palestinian Authority and militant group Hamas at border of Gaza and Israel have come to represent fragmentation among Palestinians and breakdown of reconciliation pact established in 2014; pact, signed in April, was intended to establish consensus government, but divisions have remained. MORE

Dec. 29, 2014

Hamas turns back 37 Gaza war orphans who were hoping to enter Israel as part of goodwill trip; visit was organized by Yoel Marshak of Kibbutz Movement and was approved by Israel. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

One Palestinian militant is killed and an Israeli soldier wounded during clash at Gaza border; attack, which Israel claims was triggered by Palestinian sniper attack during routine border patrol, is most serious confrontation between Israel and Hamas since cease-fire began in August. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Roger Cohen Op-Ed column describes speaking with Tzipi Livni, Israel's lead negotiator, about collapsed negotiations between Israel and Palestinians; notes that Livni attributes failure of negotiations to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who soured talks both by joining 15 international agencies and announcing reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Israeli military says it carried out airstrike on Hamas site in Gaza in retaliation for rocket fired into Israel. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

European Union's General Court reverses bloc's designation of militant Palestinian group Hamas as terrorist organization, straining relations with Israel; court's decision coincides with increased European impatience with stalled Middle East peace effort and with European Parliament's vote to recognize Palestinian statehood in principal. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

Israeli military orders eight additional criminal investigations into conduct of its forces during its war with Hamas in Gaza; investigations come after withering accusations of war crimes by Amnesty International, and ahead of inquiry by United Nations Human Rights Council. MORE

Nov. 28, 2014

Israel's internal security agency Shin Bet says it has exposed an extensive Hamas military infrastructure in West Bank that was planning to carry out attacks on Israelis but offers no evidence; there is no immediate comment from Hamas leaders in Gaza or from officials in the Palestinian Authority, which dominates in the West Bank and, despite the formation of a unity government with Hamas, essentially remains its rival. MORE

Nov. 8, 2014

Series of small explosions at homes and headquarters of several Fatah leaders in Gaza cause little damage and no casualties but heightens tensions with longtime rival Hamas; timing of anonymous attacks, days before 10th anniversary of death of Yasir Arafat, leave many people skeptical about Hamas's denial. MORE

Nov. 5, 2014

Amnesty International publishes report accusing Israel of war crimes in its 50-day war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip; says military showed 'callous indifference' to civilians in airstrikes on homes that felled entire families. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

More than half the employees of former Hamas government in the Gaza strip will receive salaries for the first time in months after Qatar donates $30 million for that purpose; payment will address a major point of tension between Palestinian political factions that had threatened reconciliation pact they signed in the spring. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

United Nations Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon will set up investigation into attacks on UN facilities during Israel's latest war against Hamas in Gaza; will also investigate the use of United Nations sites to store weapons. MORE

Oct. 15, 2014

United Nations Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon, visiting Gaza for first time since 50-day war between Israel and Hamas, describes destruction as 'beyond description'; harsh criticism of Israel comes despite newly begun reconstruction efforts; Ban states endless cycle of building and destruction in region must come to an end. MORE

Oct. 13, 2014

International donor conference in Cairo on reconstructing Gaza garners $5.4 billion in pledges; diplomats warn effort to rebuild Palestinian enclave could be jeopardized unless diplomatic solution is found to break cycle of violence between militant group Hamas and Israel. MORE

Oct. 11, 2014

Editorial submits task of rebuilding Gaza after 50-day war that damaged homes, businesses and infrastructure presents sizable challenges; questions point of rebuilding when region will only be destroyed in next war; contends reconstruction must be linked to permanent cease-fire and be designed so that it strengthens Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas, moderates committed to peace with Israel, while weakening Hamas, Israel’s implacable enemy. MORE

Oct. 10, 2014

Palestinian Prime Min Rami Hamdallah convenes first meeting of cabinet in Gaza in move meant to signal more involvement of West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in running enclave after seven years of control by Hamas; display of Palestinian unity is largely intended to inspire confidence ahead of an international donors’ conference for the reconstruction of Gaza. MORE

Oct. 1, 2014

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column reiterates argument for how Israeli-Palestinian conflict is smaller scale version of wider East-West clash of civilizations; notes that Israel's policy of containment with respect to Hamas militants prefigured strategy of American-led coalition confronting Islamic State; makes distinction between modern containment versus containment used to defeat the Soviet Union. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Leaders of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah say they have agreed to resolve their differences and allow the Palestinian Authority to return to Gaza Strip so reconstruction can begin, but offer no specifics. MORE

Sep. 24, 2014

Israeli forces corner and kill Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha, two Palestinian men suspected of kidnapping and murdering three Israeli teenagers in June; suspects refused to surrender after Israeli units surrounded their hiding place in the West Bank city of Hebron; two men, affiliates of Hamas, are hailed as heroes at their funerals. MORE

Sep. 20, 2014

Deadly shipwreck of boat in Mediterranean carrying 500 migrants has shined light on exodus of Palestinians from Gaza in wake of most recent war between Israel and Hamas; at least 1,000 Palestinians have left Gaza in past three months. MORE

Sep. 19, 2014

Closing arguments are made in landmark terrorism-financing trial that pits victims of terrorist attacks in Middle East against Arab Bank; jury, to hold the bank liable, must find that the bank's support of Hamas was direct consequence of the terrorism events. MORE

Sep. 15, 2014

Israel's destruction of residential high-rise in Gaza City during fighting with Hamas left 500 people without their homes and with dimmed hopes for the future; Israel claims building was Hamas command center, but residents say that Hamas had ties only to a single apartment. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas says that he has reached a deal with Israel and the United Nations to allow imports of reconstruction materials into the Gaza Strip, apparently bypassing Hamas to fulfill key tenet of cease-fire agreement that halted hostilities on Aug 26; Palestinian leaders estimate reconstruction costs at $7 billion and have planned an international donor conference for October. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

Shukry Bishara, Palestinian finance minister and former executive at Arab Bank, testifies that bank forwarded money to families affected by Palestinian uprising; 300 plaintiffs are accusing Arab Bank of knowingly handling transactions for terrorists, in the first civil trial of a bank under the Anti-Terrorism Act. MORE

Sep. 11, 2014

Israel announces it has begun criminal investigations into five instances of possible military misconduct in the 50-day Gaza war; it is implicit acknowledgment of sensitivity to widespread criticism, even among allies like the United States, that Israeli forces used excessive firepower in some highly publicized assaults in the Palestinian territory. MORE

Sep. 8, 2014

Palestinian Authority Pres Mahmoud Abbas assails Hamas at meeting of Arab League, accusing it of running shadow government in Gaza; remarks call into question durability of unity pact between the two factions, and potentially complicate reconstruction of Gaza Strip. MORE

Sep. 5, 2014

Erez Crossing Journal; Erez crossing, at the Israel-Gaza border, can handle up to 45,000 travelers a day, but the station is used by maybe 400; Israel sharply reduced the number of exit permits as part of a broader clampdown after Hamas wrested control of Gaza in 2007. MORE

A federal judge on Wednesday dropped two of the 24 terrorist attacks that a jury found Jordan-based Arab Bank liable for by granting a motion by the bank that argued the plaintiffs had not sufficiently demonstrated that the terrorist group Hamas had committed the attacks.